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Sports injuries going unrecorded

John Elder

Research has found that sports injuries at a community level, as recorded by sports trainers, are underestimated and misunderstood.

The research, using SMS messaging to gather data, has also opened the way for more effective tracking and monitoring of safety and prevention policies.

Christina Ekegren, a PhD candidate under the supervision of Professor Caroline Finch, from the Australian Centre for Research into Injury in Sport and its Prevention, recruited 139 football players from four Victorian community clubs at the beginning of the 2012 season. On Sunday and Monday nights she sent bulk-texts to players after their weekly matches, asking if they'd had any new injuries.

During the 18-week season, Ms Ekegren sent out 2516 text messages. A total of 171 injuries were reported by 92 football players.

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Ms Ekegren initially designed the trial to cross-check data recorded by sports trainers online at sportsinjurytracker.com.au, a site established in 2008 by Sports Medicine Australia.

''We found the sports trainers were only recording the most serious injuries; not injuries that result from overuse,'' said Ms Ekegren.

Ms Ekegren said the ALF had had an injury surveillance system in place for 20 years. ''It's one of the longest ongoing systems in the world and it has allowed the AFL to monitor injury prevention and rule changes at an elite level. But there's been nothing to record what's going on at a community level.''